Integrated circuits have become an integral part of our daily live particularly in many portable electronic products such as cell phones, portable computers, voice recorders, etc. Integrated circuits are also in many larger electronic systems, such as cars, planes, industrial control systems, etc. Across virtually all applications, there continues to be demand for reducing size and increasing performance of electronic devices.
Consumer demand for smaller, cheaper, faster electronic products directly affects packaging of integrated circuits. Increasing demand across virtually all aspects of modern life is driving improvements in integrated circuit technology. Generally, an electronic package is defined as the case and interconnection for integrated circuits also referred to as ‘semiconductor device’, ‘chip’ or ‘die’.
The case and interconnection can form an electronic system that can provide interfacing and integration with a next level electronic system. The electronic package should provide a structure physically supporting the integrated circuit and protecting the integrated circuit from the environment, a means for removing heat generated by the integrated circuits or system, and/or electrical connections to provide signal and power access to and from the integrated circuit.
The integrated circuit is electrically connected to the electronic package through several technologies such as wire bonds, solder bumps, planar interconnect, tape connections, etc. One of the more mature and well-developed technologies is wire bonding. The maturity and extensive development contributes to typically lower cost including low cost materials and high yield for a large percentage of usable parts.
Wire bonding technology has been one of the most common techniques used to make electrical connections within the package. Wire bonding may employ gold, aluminum, or copper wires. A wire is typically bonded at one end to the integrated circuit and at the other end to a next-level system such as a substrate, a lead frame, a printed circuit board, a ceramic substrate, or a flexible circuit board.
The integrated circuit can include bond pads for the wire bonding connections. As market trends demand more functions in smaller form factors, packaging can require finer bond pad pitches or spacing, smaller bond pads, or bond pads limited to placement on only some edges of the integrated circuits.
Across virtually all applications, there continues to be growing demand for increasing capacity and increasing performance of integrated circuits. The seemingly endless restrictions and requirements are no more visible than with products in our daily lives. Smaller and denser integrated circuits are expected in many portable electronic products as well as in many larger electronic systems.
As the demand continues to grow for smaller electronic products with more features, manufacturers are seeking ways to include more capacity within the same product dimensional form factors.
Thus, a need still remains for an integrated circuit package system to provide improved capacity and manufacturing yield within smaller form factors. In view of the increasing demand for improved integrated circuits and particularly more capacity in small products at lower costs, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.